Online Video Ad Views Skyrocket In Q3 2011

Online video advertising is finally catching up to consumer viewing habits. The growth rate of video ad views in the third quarter outpaced the growth rate for video views for the first time, according to new data from video technology company Freewheel. Freewheel also found that completion rates for ads were highest in long-form videos that had more ads, a promising sign for the online TV business. For more details, check out this week's New Media Minute.

Online Video Ad Views On The Rise

Online video advertising is finally catching up to consumer viewing habits. The growth rate for video ad views for the third quarter of 2011 outpaced the growth rate of video views for the first time ever, according to Freewheel.

We've all heard the stats that web video ad dollars should rise 52% this year, but the key has always been to grow the consumer tolerance of ads as a price of admission for watching TV online.

Freewheel analyzed nearly 12 billion videos on sites from Turner, ESPN, Discovery, Fox, & VEVO, and they found a growth rate of 128% for video ad views, with a growth rate of 97% for video views.

Videos longer than 20 minutes--in other words, TV episodes--had the most ads per video (about five per video). That's up from 3 ads on average from just the second quarter of 2011. And they also had the highest completion rates at 82%.

What all these stats mean is that consumers are becoming more open to and comfortable with ads on online video content. With more ads, networks and programmers can make more money.